The Opelousas courier., 1887-12-03

party, did mot unnerve the patriotic souls
who, shad it inn to smash the Democratic
and defeat the regular Democratic
nominee for Congress. Their canvass re-
qulred the declmatlon OF the regular Demo-
attempt TO meet the requirement..
And tbs ID nov they proceeded with the
business on hand; Proceeding upon the
OF fraudulent names on the registration list
OF this city, the executive or campaign COM
mlttee, or managers OF the First District re-
formers, hired 3 number Of private can
ysssers. For whats To ferret out fraudu-
lent names on the registration list7 BY no |
means. Their business was to find an ex-
cuse. the most wretehed excuse, to strike off |
the registration lists the names, and thus
disfranchise as many straight Democrats az
possible.
In a city like this many thousands Of peo-
pie annually change the places Of their resi-
dence. Even on the eve of an election the
duty OF registering is, to working and bust
ness men, an irksome tax upon their time,
and, when there is no election pending, not
from one house to another ever thinks of
having the change OF his street or number
noted on the registration list. Taking advan-
tage OF this fact the reform managers armed
their hlTellngs with lists Of tho names OF
thousands OF Democrats and sent them out
on n house-to-house inspection; and the cam
yassers actually found. what2 That there
were 1000 fraudulent names on the lists Z
No, but heu .Jotnd that, In The course OF a
ysD gears, 1000 Democratic gotefS in the First
District had changed the streets or numbers OF
thetr places or residence. without having the
are those Judge E.. ,. White stig-
matizes as 'tFhams and frauds" There
g considerable number Of ''shams and
frauds. among them: but many of the
names included in this scheme of wholesale
Acknowledgement were those of men we'll
! Knnypn Il, 1l,n min nar ~ dnnSa1 n~I h,.os
n 10 r min n e, while thousands, aye. the
great mass of them. in fact, were honest
workingmen, mechanics, small shopkeep-
fss ana iGDo roEers gog H.r hGnes tbr oasla osfs; and
from their private canvassers, two of whom
were themselves repeaters. this astounding
report of 1000 Democratic 'sghams and
managers filed in the United States
State registrar Of voters be compelled
to forthwith strike them from the
was not OF course to be entrustedto mex
perienced hands and the refor1n managers
employed MIR. &c. Beekwith to conduct the
in the most malignant period of Federal and
carpetbag domination in Louisiana, was
United States District Attorney, He had
p Doan n,t .d tae sn INSTINCT dogn OF n 2 md to TO
had been trained and educated for the work
entrusted to him by. the reformers, by q
series OF the most vindictiye prosecutions OF
Louisiana Democrats, when Louisiana DEM
ocrats were the legitimate and helpless prey
Of the carpet-bagger and the seallawag.
We eannot go INTO details, but several times
VISOR of registration of the sovereign State
of Louisiana was arrested at the instigation
OF the Federal supervisor Norton and the re-
formers, and no effort was spared BY either
the reforlners themselves or their Radical al.
lies to congBmnate the Acknowledgement of
tins vast body of Democrats. nine-tenths OF
whom were legitimate voters and voted for
Cleveland for President and Col. ST. Martin,
the regular Democratic nominee. for Con
! grees. But the wrong was too monstrous foI
, even Judge Pardee TO countenance IT.. III
/ was . political Ilonstroslty. born ont q ID
WHOSE generations are extinct and the con-
ditions of whose beings have ceased, aftei
Its first violent manifestation OF malignant
> vitality it persisted in Its own venom
Such are, in the main, the facts OF this re,
{ markable episode in our politics. The bolt
!. in the First District was the first lndeDen'
dent political deltonstratson O. me reform.
think OF iG3 If we concede the hypoeritlca
6 assertion Of Judge Whitehall it was an Ell
j fort to strike of shams and fralds--then. II
its sweeping, indiscrinlinate and undiscrim
mating reach, it has no parallel in reckless
a disregard of right and Justice, in the hlstor.
r of mankind, except the trial. IN Q body, ans
attempted extirpation OF the whole Christian
population Of Rome by Nero. But it was ne
. such thing. 1t was just precisely what w
here charge it to be.
e But tho worst, and 70 Democrats, the mos
obnoxious feature OF this TRANSACTION, wa
!. 1.-the Invocation, by q faction calling then
n lSelves Democrats, OF the lnfalaouS FEEDERS
election laws to enable Federal oflclais. an
n Federal courts TO interfere. with, domlnat
. Eand control our State officials. AZ we nav
said in a previous article, this Federal LAY
6 was one of the worst Legislative emanatlon
3 of the reconstruction era 1t was cursed an
n branded by the only two Democratic mem
d befs Of the United States Supreme Court az
g legislative abomination. 1t has been cor
e demued as infamous by all Democrats an
y Democratic papers, except the r~efornleI
and tl1eir organ. the Ficny0ae; these were TIL
fwgk to invoke IL for the acknowledgements
l. pllov-Den.ocrat and to commend 1t IS
he wHe and just statute. God grant they ma
IS be the last. So
Il We have not charged Gen. Nichols wit
le any direct participation IN this trallsac
a ton. But We have said. and we repeat Il, 2
lg was one of lie leaders of the re1ornaerg I
ot 1854. he was on the stump In advaaclnE
7, the Hunt holt, and he was cogn1zant ol "
O. innerrnost workings of the managers OF IN
movement; and yet he never lifted hls VOC
against the attempted perpetration OF N
ii Outrage. Nay; when Judge White made "a
speech at Shreveport, defend1ng ana al
he plauding this invocation by the reTormerst
of the Federal statute to disfranchlse Democrai
to Cen. Nichols was on the stand, heard eyel
oe WoTd 81 IL. heard it before and afterWard
other places, and he never uttered one sing
O. word Of disapproval or dissent. BY has sliei
ds acnuiegcenee he Endorsed every word OF IL.